Staff Reports
Abdul El‑Sayed’s campaign for the U.S. Senate is in full retreat after reporters and opponents alike unearthed old posts he apparently tried to bury. The Michigan Democrat, who won a bruising primary and would make history as the state’s first Muslim senator if elected, has faced sharp questions about why he scrubbed large portions of his social media history as the general election approaches.
Investigations showed that El‑Sayed deleted posts from the pandemic years in which he compared the nearly 3,000 Americans killed on September 11 to COVID deaths and urged a decade‑long mobilization against disease and poverty akin to the post‑9/11 response. Those deleted threads, now documented by outlets that recovered them, make clear this is not a mere oversight but a coordinated effort to erase an inconvenient record.
Worse for El‑Sayed, he openly campaigned with controversial streamer Hasan Piker, who infamously said in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11” before walking the remark back. The association has put El‑Sayed on defense, and voters have a right to know whether a nominee courts allies who not only insult America but once praised a barbaric act.
Republican attacks have predictably leaned into the worst possible phrasing, with Mike Rogers claiming El‑Sayed believes America “deserved” 9/11 — a charge that fact‑checkers say is inaccurate when stated as a literal quote from El‑Sayed. Still, the evasions and the refusal to fully own or explain past associations speak volumes about judgment and priorities.
The media circus that followed included staff outrage at how one network framed the story, with some accusing editors of Islamophobia for running it ahead of the 9/11 anniversary. But hardworking Americans aren’t looking for media theater; they want honest conversations about national security, loyalty, and whether a nominee’s past rhetoric and alliances weaken their trust.
El‑Sayed’s campaign says it deleted posts older than July 2023 to avoid context‑stripping, but timing and selective memory are poor substitutes for accountability. Voters should judge candidates on the totality of their record, not the polished version they hand to reporters, and conservatives will be right to ask whether a man who scrubbed his past is ready to stand squarely for America when enemies are watching.
